Zero Hour playlist for 6/10/09: Stax, It's What's for Dinner

A big, funky bucket of Stax was served this week as part of my I Love My Label segment, which spotlights assorted noteworthy independent labels. As I mentioned on the show, Stax is one of the great labels of all time, indie or otherwise, which is not all a new idea. It does, however, help indicate how difficult it is to sum up a label’s output, even in two hours time. Instead, I tried to give a bit of a Stax/Volt sampler, with perhaps more focus on the label’s early history. A Part 2 is certainly in order. Part 3 and 4, too. Well worth checking out, if you haven’t already, is the 2007 documentary on Stax, Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story, directed by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.

Archives are here.


I Wish It Was Friday- Chuck Mead - Journeyman's Wager (Grassy Knoll)
I Don't Want the Night to End - Nick Lowe - Jesus of Cool (Yep Roc)
Roll Your Own - Fabulous Poodles - Goodbye Nashville, Hello Camden Town (Castle)
Still Love Rock And Roll - Ian Hunter - Old Records Never Die: The Anthology (Shout Factory)

Early in the Morning - Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey - hERE aND nOW (Bar/None)
Stormy River - Marshall Crenshaw - Jaggedland (429)
The Crooked Line - Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane and Sugarcane (Hear)
Slim Chance - Todd Snider - The Excitement Plan (Yep Roc)
Belle of the Bar - Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles - Live at WMSE, Vol. 9 (WMSE)

P.O. Box 9847 - Plexi 3 - Tides of Change (Certified PR)
Please Don't Come Around - Tommy Keene - In the Late Bright (Second Motion)
Awkward Kisser - Telekinesis - S/T (Merge)
Thunderclap for Bobby Pyn - Sonic Youth - The Eternal (Matador)

Teen Beast - Los Straitjackets - The Further Adventures (Yep Roc)
Rock 'Til The End Of Time - Little Johnny And The Silvertones - I Still Hate CD's: Norton Records 45 RPM Singles Collection (Norton)
Baptize Me in Wine - Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Screamin' the Blues (Red Lightnin)

7-inch Six-Pack/ I Love My Label – Stax, Memphis, Tenn.
Soul Finger - The Bar-Kays - 7"
Tramp - Otis & Carla - 7"
I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down - Sam & Dave - 7"
Gimme Some Good Soul Music - The Dramatics - 7"
The Best Years of My Life - Eddie Floyd - 7"
Lovin' On Borrowed Time - William Bell - 7"

I Can't Turn You Loose - Otis Redding - The Otis Redding Story - (Atlantic/Stax)
Don't Be Afraid of Love - Oscar Mack - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968 (Atlantic/Stax)
Everybody Loves A Winner - William Bell - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968 (Atlantic/Stax)
Biggest Fool In Town - Gorgeous George - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968 (Atlantic/Stax)
I'll Bring It Home To You - Carla Thomas - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968 (Atlantic/Stax)
Slow Train - The Staple Singers - Soul Folk In Action (Fantasy/Stax)

Can Your Monkey Do the Dog - Rufus Thomas - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968 (Atlantic/Stax)
Mini-Skirt Minnie - Sir Mack Rice - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968 (Atlantic/Stax)
Big Bird - Eddie Floyd - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968 (Atlantic/Stax)
Grits Ain't Groceries (All Around The World) - Little Milton - Grits Ain't Groceries (Fantasy/Stax)
Green Onions - Booker T. And The M.G.'s - Funky Broadway: Stax Revue Live At the 5/4 Ballroom (Fantasy/Stax)


Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone - Johnnie Taylor - Mojo Presents Stax Soul Power! (Mojo insert)
Don't Talk About Jody - Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff (Fantasy/Stax)
Weak Spot - Ruby Johnson - I'll Run Your Hurt Away (Fantasy/Stax)
Philly Dog - The Mar-Keys - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968 (Atlantic/Stax)

A Gift For You - Eric Mercury - More Dirty Laundry: The Soul of Black Country (Trikont)
I Wish It Would Rain - O.B. McClinton - Stax Sings Songs of Motown Records (Concord/Stax)
I've Been Lonely For So Long - Frederick Knight - I've Been Lonely For So Long (Fantasy/Stax)
It Ain't Always What You Do (It's Who You Let See You Do It) - The Soul Children - Chronicle (Fantasy/Stax)
What's Good For You (Don't Have To be Good To You) - Harvey Scales - The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles Volume 3: 1972-1975 (Fantasy/Stax)

Right On - Sons of Slum - The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles Volume 3: 1972-1975 (Fantasy/Stax)
Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes - Shaft OST (Fantasy/Stax)
Sweetback's Theme - Melvin Van Peebles - The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles Volume 2: 1968-1971 (Fantasy/Stax)
I'll Play The Blues For You [Live] - Albert King - Wattstax: the Living Word (Fantasy/Stax)

Since You've Been Gone - Eddie Floyd - Eddie Loves You So (Concord/Stax)
Cigarettes and Coffee - Otis Redding - The Otis Redding Story (Atlantic/Volt)